Columbia Marlow Shipmanagement chief executive Mark O’Neil paints an interesting picture of the future of shipping as it advances into the digital age with e-commerce and autonomous ships.

O'Neil is so convinced of the importance of digitalisation in the changing landscape, he is taking the lead in the newly merged company's digital initiatives.

“What will be one of the big sea changes of the future is you will see huge players coming into the business — the logistics companies, the online purchasing companies, the Amazons, the Alibabas — who will look to put in place vertical structures,” he tells TradeWinds.